Behind the Scenes: 2012
In documenting so many family sessions this year and working with a handful of different photographers and assistants, I have some relatively entertaining images from behind the scenes and I'm pretty sure these families will get a chuckle as well (especially with the incredibly glamorous photos of me at the end).
Without further adieu....
Glen & Jill's adorable twin girls, Nora & Lily, have some allergies, but I wasn't aware that grass was one of them! What did we do first thing of our session? We sat on a blanket on grass and the girls, bless their hearts, immediately started itching. We brought Glen & Jill into the frame to try to distract the girls from scratching, even to the point of being silly or kissing, but the girls wouldn't be deterred. Poor things!
I think somewhere near the beginning of this session as well, Jill's shoe fell completely apart. So, if we knew her foot would be in the shot, she strategically placed the sole of her shoe where it needed to be and you can't tell she was gimping her way through it! Except in this shot of course....
This section can also be dedicated to my families' moms. They do SO MUCH before we even meet up for our session to make the time run as smoothly as possible. But sometimes, they do photo bomb the moment for some needed face-to-face time with their children. We all need a little refresher of the rules of the game now and then. :)
These moms help adjust things throughout our time together too. From tying shoes, straightening shirts, providing a snack, to pulling pants down *ahem* so that Melody's boys don't look like they're stuck in the 1950s waiting for a flood. :)
Moms like Stacy (and Dads like Chris, too) try to make the best of any pose even though they know from the get-go that their Little One may not be too excited. Soren loves climbing things, so we thought he'd enjoy climbing on a chair. Logical right? Not in this case! We at least had to try...
Moms, like Melissa, of my littlest ones are always my Spotters keeping infants like Alivia safe and sound.
*Sigh* Sibling Love. Such a beautiful thing. We went from Calvin giving Alivia a quick smack on the back (maybe he wanted to burp her?) to making up for it with a hug at their Christmas session. Oh, the moments I get to document...
This next section is dedicated to my colleagues/assistants/Better Half. We'll start with Faith. She has been my trusty sidekick this year on some of my longest days. Namely, Upwards Bball, Upwards Soccer and Central City Soccer Leagues for our church. She is my Poser; meaning, she poses the kiddos and helps line up the teams for me. Did I mention, she also gets to be my Tester for my light settings? I think that's in the job description for every Second Shooter.
Another friend I had the pleasure of working with this year was
. We've photographed a handful of weddings together now and it's always fun to be a fly on the wall watching another work. Say "Cheese!" Jane. :)
I also had the pleasure to have
be my Second Shooter for my most recent wedding. He really is a secret weapon and teaches me something new every time I work with him.
Again, a Second Shooter gets to be the model to test lighting settings.....
Here's where my Better Half comes in. Battling through the fatigue of our first trimester, Gerard came with me on several shoots this fall to help corral Little Ones, keep them entertained, give me a pose idea in a pinch (and when Pregnancy Brain kicked in lethally). And
most of the time
, ALL of the time, my clients enjoyed his company and his sense of humor gave them a more natural smile for my images. Love you hon!!
So now, just in case I've embarrassed anyone else in this post, here are some awesome ones of me that others have captured behind the scenes.
As a Second Shooter, I got to model for Jane's lighting settings. See? I told ya!
I promise I do work hard for those sports league photos! Faith just happened to snap this on one of our breaks in between teams. . .
Faith also caught me on a turn-around using Austin's camera. I think I was in the process of asking him a question....?
At least I can rest in the fact that my posture has improved...at least a little...while photographing.
But then there's this. I think this squat takes the cake for the year. Gerard captured this one of me cross legged, behind the Little One's mother who was trying to get her to smile, in the middle of a flower patch. What he didn't capture on this phone-camera shot, was the sweat pooling on the small of my back and running down my neck on this particularly stuffy summer morning.
I hope you've been even mildly entertained by seeing some of the things that go on in the fun frenzy that is our photo sessions. I'm sure the coming year will bring even more hilarity and entertainment for next December!
Happy New Year!!
Carrie